Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. If I did, it wouldn't be as cool as what Oda-sensei created.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Every review encourages me to continue writing.

Author's Note 2: You don't really have to know this, but to give the story a little more of a realistic feel, I used the terms port (the left side of a ship when facing forward) and starboard (the right side of the ship when facing the bow/forward).

Diffraction
by Mako-clb

Chapter 6: Riptide

"FOOD! I want food!" Luffy shouted as he beat his fist on the galley table.

"Oi, where's breakfast?" Zoro shouted, adding to the din.

"Shut it, you shit heads!" Sanji shouted back from the kitchen. "I'm cooking as fast as I can."

"I need meat!" Luffy shouted.

Of course he needs meat, Sanji thought. As if everyone didn't already know that. Sanji adjusted the heat on the frying pan slightly before adding the tarragon. He rarely made a ham and egg scramble like this since Nami-san preferred her ham with a citrus glaze and not mixed with her eggs, but this had been a quick option and Nami-san wasn't here.

If Sanji had been smoking, he would have bit through his cigarette with how hard he clenched his teeth. He'd been on edge most of the night, worried about Nami-san. When he finally managed to fall asleep, Franky had woken him for third watch. Now, on top of being worried, Sanji was exhausted.

As the noise from the galley got louder, Sanji quickly plated the food. He grabbed two plates and rushed into the galley. Sanji smoothly served the first plate to Robin-chan. As he spun to serve the second plate, Sanji saw the empty chair and jerked to a stop. He recovered as quickly as he could and set the plate in front of Chopper.

"What took so damn long?" Zoro snapped as Sanji hustled back and forth from the kitchen with the rest of the plates.

Sanji slammed a plate down in front of the swordsman. "I was on watch," he snarled.

"But it's never made you late before," Luffy said as he shoveled food in his mouth. Unfortunately, the crew had enough experience with Luffy's poor table manners that they understood him perfectly.

"Well, I've never had last watch before."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Franky asked before gulping down his cola.

"Last watch ends at six." Sanji turned to refill Robin-chan's coffee. "I usually start prepping for breakfast before that. Figure it out."

"That's why we should have followed Nami's schedule," Usopp said, swatting away Luffy's hand as the captain made a grab for his food.

"Wait, are you telling me the girlie sets the watch schedule?" Franky asked. The cyborg missed Luffy's grab for his breakfast, but Sanji managed to deflect Luffy's arm with a well-placed kick. "Isn't that the first mate's job?"

Usopp shrugged. "I don't know. Nami's always done it."

"And how come she never asked me?" Franky set his empty cola bottle down on the table with a little more force than necessary. "I can pull my weight around here."

"You haven't been on the ship that long," Usopp said, holding out his glass for a refill. "Nami probably hasn't figured out your sleep schedule yet."

"Why?" Luffy stretched his neck so his nose was inches from Franky's. "Do you do something cool in your sleep?"

"She doesn't watch him sleep," Usopp said. "Nami just likes to know if we stay up late or go to bed early. That's why Sanji gets first watch, and Zoro's always on second watch."

"Nami-san is so considerate," Sanji gushed.

"Yeah, Nami's great," Luffy said, a big smile on his face. "That's why she's my navigator. And that's why we're gonna get her back."

-N-N-N-N-N-

Morning had not improved Nami's outlook on her situation. After she relieved herself last night, Remba had escorted her back to her prison, where she had been chained and left without any food or water. Hungry and alert for one of her captors to pay her a visit, Nami hadn't really been able to sleep.

Nami guessed it was still early morning when the short, plump man opened the door to her prison and tossed a canteen and a crust of dry bread at Nami. It would have been a rude awakening if she hadn't already been awake. Nami squinted, trying to adjust to the light, but before she could, the door slammed shut again.

Nami took a sip of the water. It tasted stale, but she forced herself to take another sip. She couldn't afford to get dehydrated. Nami sniffed the bread, but despite how hard it was, it didn't seem to have gone bad. She poured a tiny bit of water on the bread, softening it enough that she could just manage to eat it.

The only bright spot, if it could be called that, was nobody had realized yet that Nami could get out of her chains whenever she wanted. Getting as comfortable as she could on the floor, Nami pressed her ear to the door and listened for any clues about who her captors were, why they wanted her, and how she could escape.

-N-N-N-N-N-

Usopp adjusted his goggles and bent over the rocky ground. He wasn't sure exactly what they were looking for, but Robin said they might find more clues in the daylight. Usopp wasn't as confident.

Of course he wanted to find Nami. He was terrified for her. They shared a special bond. They were the only members of the crew who didn't have devil fruit powers or superhuman fighting abilities. They had to depend on their brains and weapons and a certain amount of self-preservation to stay alive. And now Nami was out there somewhere, alone, and without her Clima-Tact—without what little protection Usopp could give her.

As Usopp turned to the left, his head bumped something. He jerked back, but relaxed when he realized it was just one of the many hands with eyes Robin had sprouted all across the ground. Usopp turned back to where Robin stood, arms crossed over her chest and eyes closed. Sanji was down on the little beach, but everyone else was just standing around. Zoro was even taking a nap. A nap.

"Why isn't anybody helping?" Usopp snapped. "Don't you care about finding Nami?"

"Course we care." Franky shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. "But Nico Robin said I might destroy evidence."

Usopp wasn't so sure about that. Despite their very rocky start, including being robbed and kidnapped by Franky and his family, Usopp had probably spent the most time with their new nakama. Franky's bulky cyborg body may not have looked like it could do delicate work, but Usopp had seen him handle some pretty intricate machinery.

"I believe I have found something."

Usopp turned to see that all but one of Robin's arms had disappeared. That single arm was closer to the cliff edge, the hand bent at the wrist and one finger clearly pointing down.

When Usopp reached the spot, it still took him a moment to find what Robin was pointing at. Usopp stretched out on his stomach and tilted his head so he could get a close-up look without moving it.

"What is it?" Luffy asked in a bored voice, which grated on Usopp's nerves.

"A bullet. Based on the caliber, it's probably from a hand gun, not a rifle. Assuming it wasn't moved…" Usopp levered himself up and shifted slightly. "The shooter was probably over that way." He pointed.

Usopp started when Zoro got up. He thought the swordsman was asleep, but Zoro was suddenly moving towards him. Without a word, he crouched next to Usopp.

"They shot Nami?"

"I don't know." Usopp looked back at the bullet, as if it would have the answer. Looking back up at Zoro, he asked, "Where did you find the Clima-Tact and Nami's…the blood?"

Zoro looked around. Usopp jumped a bit when Zoro gave a low growl. "I'm not sure."

"Even so, I think it's safe to assume this wasn't the work of one person," Robin said.

"They cheated?" Luffy asked.

"I'm sure they didn't see it that way," Robin said, "but I think the evidence points to at least two. We can't be sure what happened, perhaps there was a second assailant from the beginning or maybe the first met his partner here, but we know our dear doctor found two scents besides Nami's that headed down to the beach. Since we know that our navigator does not carry a gun, the most logical assumption is the bullet came from whoever took her."

-N-N-N-N-N-

Nami guessed it was sometime around mid-morning based on the amount of light filtering through the cracks in the wood. She had been stuck in her little room with no contact since her breakfast. She didn't know if the crew had been instructed not to talk near her prison or if the flow of the ship just naturally kept everyone away during normal sailing, but despite keeping an ear to the door for hours, the only information Nami had gleaned was that her kidnappers were confident they weren't being followed.

That didn't surprise Nami. She knew, without a doubt, that as soon as she failed to make it back to the Sunny, her nakama would have set out looking for her. They would have scoured every inch of the town and beyond. She could imagine Sanji-kun racing around crying her name and Robin generating eyes on every surface she could find. Zoro would pretend like he didn't care, but he would keep looking for her until he found her, no matter how lost he got. Usopp would alternate between crying and telling some crazy story about how he once found a lost princess, which would make Chopper alternately cry with worry and hero-worship the sniper. And Luffy, well, Nami could never quite predict what Luffy would do, but she knew he wouldn't rest until he found her.

Despite all that, Nami had no idea how long it might take for them to find her Clima-Tact. When they did, they would know something was wrong. But how much longer would it take for them to realize she wasn't on the island anymore? And even then, would they know who had taken her and where?

No, as amazing as the Straw Hats were, Nami knew there was no way they were coming anytime soon. For now, she would have faith that they were looking. That was enough. And she knew her nakama would have faith in her ability to stay alive and fight until they were together again.

But Nami fought with her cunning and skill, and that required information, information she didn't have. Despite the fact it had been dark and her trip outside had been brief, Nami was sure she had seen a jolly roger flying from the ship. That meant pirates. But why would pirates kidnap her? They could still be after her bounty. It wasn't very common, but some pirate crews would prey on other pirates, having lesser-known crew members turn bounties into the marines. It could earn them some quick beri and thin out their competition. But stronger pirate crews usually didn't bother and weaker crews usually avoided anyone too strong. Plus, something her kidnapper had said made her think this was about more than her bounty.

Was this all some kind of trick to lure her nakama into a trap? Taking out the crew that had taken on all of Enies Lobby would certainly make a name for any up-and-coming pirates. But if that were the case, wouldn't they have left behind a clue so Luffy and the others could follow?

Nami heard footsteps approaching. When they stopped on the other side of the door, Nami quickly and quietly moved back to the bed and replaced the chain on her wrist. She got it locked just before the door opened.

"Remba, hold her," said the short man from earlier.

Remba came in and grabbed Nami's free arm and placed a hand on her thigh. In the light of day, Nami was better able to see the very handsome pirate. He had dark eyes and brown hair that looked like he had recently gotten out of bed. With the slight stubble, it gave him an unkempt look that Nami normally didn't appreciate, but on him it looked good.

"My apologies," he said. Remba slid his hand down a bit so it rested closer to Nami's knee. It was the kind of chivalrous thing Sanji-kun might do.

Nami frowned. That was being unkind to Sanji-kun. While the cook would probably have taken the opportunity to get an eyeful of Nami's cleavage, Sanji-kun would never have allowed a woman, even an enemy prisoner, to be chained and denied a proper meal.

Nami's short, pudgy jailer had trouble squeezing past Remba to get into the tiny room and release Nami from her restraints. The way he was forced to lean over her, Nami could have kneed him in the groin with her free leg, but she decided it wouldn't do her any good right now. Once her wrist was free, he backed out. Then Remba released Nami's leg and, with two hands firmly on her arm, backed out of the room, dragging Nami with him.

Nami blinked a few times once she was outside. As she suspected, it was a clear, sunny day although she felt a storm on its way. But right now, there wasn't a cloud in the sky that she could see. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything as far as she could see. No other ships, no islands, nothing.

As she turned to get a view off the starboard side, Nami came face-to-face with a tall, skinny older man.

"I hear you're quite the navigator," he said, as he turned a pointed to the ship's bow. "Prove it by getting us through that storm."

"Why would I?" Nami snarled. "I don't have to prove anything to you. And what kind of ship on the Grand Line doesn't have a navigator?" Nami threw her arms up in disbelief.

"Oh, we have a navigator," the tall man said, and Nami shivered as she suddenly recognized the voice as that of the man who had kidnapped her. "But as the captain of this ship, I decided we needed more than one, and I heard that you might be just the one we need. But as the captain, I decided I needed to test your skills, and on a pirate ship, the captain's word is law. You should know that, being a pirate yourself."

"If your navigator isn't any good, hire a new one, but don't kidnap people."

The captain grabbed Nami by the arm and forcefully turned her around to face the bow and the large bank of dark clouds in the near distance. "How good my navigator is just isn't your concern right now. All you need to worry about is getting us through that storm because we're heading directly towards it."

"So just wait until it passes or go around. Even if you aren't a navigator, you should know that."

The captain squeezed Nami's arm hard enough that she thought he might just leave a bruise.

Nami grit her teeth. Despite how thin the man was, he had a tight hold on Nami's arm. And even if she could break loose, there wasn't anywhere for her to go right now. The most important thing was for her to survive, and that meant making sure this ship made it through that storm.

Taking a deep breath, Nami focused on the clouds ahead. Once she did, she realized something was wrong. The ocean was choppy and the wind speed was picking up, which were sure signs of a coming storm. The humidity was high, but not yet high enough to warrant clouds as big and dark as the ones she was looking at. That shouldn't happen for awhile yet. But the wind and the waves didn't match the clouds that weren't moving.

"You don't need to worry about that," Nami said, pointing towards the dark clouds ahead. "I don't know if it's some kind of mirage or what, but it's not a storm. You need to worry about the actual storm that's coming. It's gathering now, and it's going to be big."

-N-N-N-N-N-

Robin gently pushed open the door to the map shop. The tinkle of a bell drew the attention of a short, elderly man. He gave her a friendly smile. As Robin stepped aside so the rest of her nakama could enter, she watched as his eyes grew a bit wider, but the smile never left his face.

"How may I help you?"

"We are looking for a friend," Robin said. "She visited your shop two days ago, and she may have returned yesterday."

Franky added, "The girlie was here with me and Reindeer-bro."

The old man looked up at Franky. He adjusted his glasses and then said, "I remember you. You had that pet tanuki. And of course I remember your friend. I haven't seen anyone with her talents in a long time."

"Hey, old guy," Luffy shouted from the back of the group, "tell us what happened to Nami."

The old man's dark eyes went wide and he took a step back at Luffy's aggressive tone. It surprised Robin too, but she supposed it shouldn't have. Luffy's anger was almost always triggered by injustice or danger to his nakama. Nami's disappearance had everyone worried, but the realization that she may have been shot had taken things to another level.

"Please don't be afraid," Robin said as calmly as she could. "We are all just a bit on edge. Our friend went missing last night. We think this may have been one of the last places she visited yesterday, and we were hoping you might be able to tell us something that could help us find her."

"Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that," the old man said, and to Robin he looked genuinely concerned. "She was a lovely girl, and it was a pleasure talking with her. Most people who come into my shop just want to buy the maps they need and leave. She had a true appreciation for cartography as an art as well as a science."

"Is that why she came back here yesterday, to talk with you?" Usopp asked.

"Oh, an old man like me may want to pretend that a lovely girl like that was interested in conversation, but I'm fairly certain she was only interested in maps."

"Please tell us what you remember about her visit yesterday," Robin said. "Anything may help."

"I was surprised to see her, though very pleased. She showed me a few of her maps. I was very glad to see she put my paper to good use." The man smiled fondly. "I'm still not sure how she managed to get me to sell it to her at cost. But it was worth it when I saw the maps she drew."

"She is indeed a gifted cartographer and navigator," Robin agreed.

"I've never seen better." The old man smiled. "I always thought I was pretty good, but I don't compare. I'm hoping her maps will draw more customers into the shop."

"What do you mean?" Sanji asked from where he stood next to Robin, a cigarette dangling from his fingers and his right foot tapping against the floor.

"I came in early this morning to re-do my display. I featured two of your friend's maps. I don't get a lot of requests for maps of the East Blue here, but I'm sure a good navigator will recognize their value."

"Why do you have Nami's maps, old man?" Luffy asked as he pushed his way in front of Robin.

"I bought them."

"You're lying!" Luffy shouted.

"Captain," Robin said, reaching out for Luffy's arm.

"He's lying!" Luffy said. "Nami wouldn't sell her maps."

The old man sucked in a breath and took a step back. Luffy froze for a moment, just staring at the man for a few heartbeats before hanging his head. Robin could see his entire body tense up. Then he placed a hand on his straw hat and without looking up, pushed his way out of the shop.

The ringing of the bell broke the spell everyone seemed to be under. Without a word, Zoro followed Luffy out.

"Please forgive our captain," Robin said, bowing slightly. "He's very worried about our friend. We all are."

Robin was beginning to suspect that Luffy's reaction was more than that, but right now his pain was less important than finding a clue to what happened to Nami. Robin would trust Zoro to look after Luffy. She would focus on sifting through what few facts she could find to piece together the bigger picture, like a good archeologist.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself." Robin clasped her hands in front of her. "My name is Robin."

"I"m Sabti."

"Could you please show us the maps our friend sold you?"

-N-N-N-N-N-

"I said pull up the sails," Nami shouted. As much as she complained that her nakama were idiots, she was beginning to realize that they were geniuses compared to this bunch of morons. Well, maybe geniuses was going a little far, but at least her boys could follow directions and knew better than to question her during a storm.

She was surprised that this group of lazy bums had made it to the Grand Line at all let alone survived long enough to get here. The only ones with any brains and willing to put forth any effort seemed to be Remba and the pudgy man who she suspected was the first mate.

"Hard to starboard!"

"But that will take us–"

"Hard to starboard!" Nami repeated. "Be ready to drop the mainsail on my mark."

"You just had us pull it up, wench!"

"Get ready." The ship's bow rose nearly forty degrees as it turned into the crashing waves. It was going to be close, but Nami knew another gust was coming. She just had to time it right so they could make it to the edge of the gathering storm. "Now!"

It took the two, skinny boys who were manning the mainsail a few seconds longer than it should have to follow her order, and they didn't get the bottom of the sail properly secured, but the sail still managed to catch that gust of wind well enough that it propelled them over the worst of the turbulent sea and into calmer waters. They weren't completely out of the storm's influence by any means, but they were far enough out that it wasn't anything to worry about.

"Get the mainsail secured, and turn us twenty degrees to port."

"Beautiful and talented," Remba commented from behind her. The man had a very unusual accent, one she had never heard anywhere before, so it was easy to identify him by the sound of his voice alone.

Turning around, she appreciated how handsome he was, and the crooked smile that reached all the way to his eyes didn't hurt either. If Nami had met him somewhere else, under different circumstances, she might have flirted with him and maybe even gone on a date, as long as he paid, of course. But considering Remba was part of the pirate crew that had kidnapped her, Nami couldn't really bring herself to think of him as anything other than an enemy.

"Yes, she's just as talented as we were led to believe," the captain said as he moved from his spot on the other side of the helm.

"And who exactly told you about my talents?" Nami asked. Hands on hips and with a fierce look, she demanded an answer with her posture as much as her words.

"Why, you and your crew."

Nami's jaw dropped, but she quickly regained her composure. "I've never seen you before."

"I didn't say you knew we were listening." The captain gave her a smile that made Nami's skin crawl. "But that talking animal was quite adamant that you are an amazing navigator. I assume he's some type of Devil Fruit user. I didn't know there was a fruit that could turn someone into a tanuki, but the Grand Line is a strange place."

Nami bit the inside of her lip. This crew had been stalking her crew, but for how long? Had they planted some kind of listening device on the Sunny? She didn't remember them from Water 7, but the island had plenty of places to dock a ship and the Straw Hats were far from the only pirates at the Galley Law ship yards. They could have overheard Chopper or any of them anywhere. Even though Galley Law was hiding them at their headquarters, it's not as if they hadn't all gone out shopping or having fun around town. And she had no idea who had ended up at that huge party. She herself had been doing some eavesdropping.

Nami found it hard to believe this crew of incompetents had followed the Sunny all the way from Water 7 without anyone noticing. At the very least, Usopp should have seen them. If they were close enough to follow, they were close enough for the sharpshooter to catch a glimpse of them. But it's not as if her crew had made a lot of stops since Water 7, so where else could this have started?

"So what now?" Nami asked, certain she wouldn't like the answer no matter what it was.

"Now that you've proven to be even more useful than I ever imagined, you'll be staying as our guest for the foreseeable future."

"Oh, is that how you treat your guests?" Nami snapped.

"It is for now, but if you continue to cooperate and serve me well, I might make things a bit easier for you."

Nami knew she was surrounded by enemies on all sides. But now Nami knew she was valuable to this man, but only while she was alive. It was a situation she'd been in before, but this wasn't like being Arlong's prisoner. Unlike Arlong, he wasn't holding her loved ones hostage, so she didn't have to worry how her actions would affect others. That gave Nami the ability to see how far she could push her captor.

"I didn't cooperate with you," Nami said. "The only reason I did anything was because if I had left things up to the idiots you call a crew and their moron of a captain, I would have sunk with the rest of you."

She saw his open hand moving to strike her and ducked out of the way, but that put her off balance, so it was child's play for the first mate to knock her down to the deck, face first. She felt the damaged wood of the deck cut into her check and the weight on her back kept her down.

"Back to your room for now," the captain snarled. "When you learn how to act like a proper guest, maybe we'll treat you a little nicer. Maybe."

The weight moved off her and then some burly, middle-aged man with an iron grip grabbed her wrist and roughly pulled her to her feet. He drug her back to her prison and pushed her inside so hard she fell across the bed and banged her shoulder on the metal frame. Before she could turn over, he snapped the metal restraint around her wrist. Nami managed to turn her head just enough so she could give him an icy glare before he left the tiny room, slamming the door behind him.

-N-N-N-N-N-

When they exited the shop, Franky noticed that there were a lot more people walking around town than when they arrived. Despite the advantage his height gave him, it still took a few moments to spot Sword-bro standing across the street and a block up.

Franky almost called out, but something held him back. Instead, he just started walking, hoping the others would follow. As Franky got closer, he saw Straw Hat-bro sitting on a little patch of grass in front of one of the stores. He was curled in on himself, his hat completely hiding his face. Sword-bro stood next to Straw Hat, his leg barely touching his captain's arm and one hand resting on the hilt of his katana. If Franky didn't know better, he would have guessed Sword-bro was protecting Straw Hat, but he couldn't imagine why.

Franky stopped in front of them, not caring that he blocked part of the street. Cook-bro moved past him to stand on Luffy's other side, and Longnose-bro squeezed in next to him. The four of them were huddled on the little patch of green.

"So?"

Sword-bro was looking at Cook-bro when he asked, but it was Nico Robin who answered from her spot on the street beside Franky.

"I am certain the five maps the man showed us were made by our navigator. All were locations in East Blue, and they had her distinctive mark. But I can think of no significance behind the fact that she sold those particular maps other than the amount."

"It was a SUPER amount," Franky said, trying to lift the mood. "The girlie must be as good as you say."

"How much?" Sword-bro asked, voice flat as he gazed at Straw Hat-bro.

"Food expenses for a month," Cook-bro mumbled around his cigarette.

to be continued

Author's Note: The owner of the map shop where Nami sold her maps was named after famous cartographer Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti. He created the Tabula Rogeriana (translated as the Book of Roger), which was a description of the world accompanied by a detailed map created in 1154. I'm sure you can guess why I had to sneak this reference in.